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Over the
past several issues we have learned about "the fam", "cousin
II", and "cousin VI". Today I would like to introduce you to
"cousin III".
Cousin III is like cousin VI -- she doesn't show up as often
as cousin II, and certainly not near as much as the fam itself
-- I, IV and V -- but when she does show up, she shows an
overwhelming affinity to move to cousin VI. In other words,
she just LOVES cousin VI.
If you
recall, cousin VI loves cousin II, and cousin II loves V, and
V loves I.
Taken all
together, we have one of the strongest -- maybe THE strongest
-- chord progression in all of music.
If you know
the old song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone", you
can see for yourself what I'm talking about. After the I
chord, the song progresses through the III - VI - II - V - I
cycle perfectly. (That's kind of an inside joke, since each
chord progresses up a perfect 4th).
If you're
thinking "That's nice, but this certainly doesn't apply to
classical music", then play Liebestraum. It uses exactly the
same progression through it's theme. In fact, you can play the
theme of "Liebestraum" and the theme of "Please Don't Talk
About Me When I'm Gone" at the same time. (But I don't
recommend it except to prove to yourself that all kinds of
music use these same chord progressions we've been talking
about.)
So what?
Here's what:
Learn this III - VI -- II - V - I chord progression, and
you've not only learned a progression that happens a great
deal in all kinds of music, but you've also learned almost
half of the Circle of 4ths! And having the Circle of 4ths
memorized and down cold and "in your fingers" is like an
advanced degree in music -- it will take you a LONG way toward
both understanding and playing the chord progressions you want
to play.
So here it
is in all 12 keys: (You know, of course, that the key of Db is
enharmonic with the key of C#, so I don't repeat it in the
table below.)
| III VI II V I
Key of C: E A D G C
Key of F: A D G C F
Key of G: B E A D G
Key of D: F# B E A D
Key of E: G# C# F# B E
Key of A: C# F# B E A
Key of B: D# G# C# F# B
Key of Db: F Bb Eb Ab Db
Key of Eb: G C F Bb Eb
Key of Ab: C F Bb Eb Ab
Key of Gb: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
Key of Bb: D G C F Bb |
It goes without saying that it is
IMPERATIVE that this sequence of chords be both committed to
memory, and even more importantly, understood.
Next issue we will take up the entire
Circle of 4ths.
See you then.
(Meanwhile be sure to check out some
tools to help you comprehend all this. There is so much to
learn in music, and it's so exciting when you DO understand
it, that's it's worth everything to get a complete grasp of
the reality of music. It will make your playing so much more
enjoyable and so much better over time. Click on the
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You'll like what you see.
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